Machine for treating ballast in a railroad bed



y 1963 F. PLASSER ET AL 3,096,829

MACHINE FOR TREATING BALLAST IN A RAILROAD BED Filed April 25, 1960 I INVENTORS Sta Unite The present invention relates to machines for treating or cleaning ballast supporting a railroad track including two elongated rails and tie means transversely connecting said rails, and more particularly to that type of ballast cleaning apparatus comprising a vehicle, for instance a track-type tractor, traveling laterally adjacent the track and supporting a ballast treating implement, for instance a ballast conveyor, which extends substantially horizontally from the vehicle for positioning in the ballast under the track.

Machines of this general type are known and have the advantage that they do not interfere with the passage of trains. The ballast treating implement remains in the ballast bed when a train passes and the tractor is arranged at a sufficient distance adjacent the track to permit passage of the train.

However, such machines also have some disadvantages which result particularly from the lack of guidance of the tractor while it travels along the track. This has necessitated the use of an auxiliary vehicle at the other side of the track to guide the free end of the ballast treating implement and even this has not always been successful in assuring the proper transverse position of the implement in the ballast. It was time-consuming and diflicult to synchronize the forward movement of the two vehicles so that neither lagged behind or sped ahead and it was equally difficult to regulate the immersion depth of the implement in the ballast during the forward movement. Jamming occurred easily and often, which caused great time losses during operation. Tilting was due primarily to the fact that the tractor needed considerable space for movement next to the track and that the areas next to a railroad track usually are not at all even and tend to be inclined. Finally, the installation of the apparatus proved to be quite difiicult because its parts were heavy and bulky. Considerable preparations, including extensive digging, were required as Well as powerful cranes and transport means for putting the apparatus into operation. All this timeaconsuming and heavy labor had to be repeated each time the apparatus reached a point without a regular ballast bed, such as crossings, bridges, stations and the like, where the implement had to be removed from the ballast, the tractor moved to the location where the ballast bed started again and the apparatus had to be put into operation anew.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simpler and lighter machine of this type, which has all of its advantages, but whose secure guidance along the track is assured.

This and other objects are accomplished in accordance with this invention by mounting on the vehicle a guide means for engagement with at least one rail of the track whereby the vehicle is guided along the track as it travels adjacent thereto and by providing means for temporarily moving the guide means out of the space defined by the track whereby the track is free .for the passage of trains.

Since the apparatus does not operate while a train passes over the operating area, the vehicle requires no guidance during this period when it remains standing still adjacent the track.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, a pair of tractors travels laterally adjacent a respective rail of the track, each tractor supporting a 3,995,829 Patented July 9, 1963 ICQ ballast treating implement extending substantially horizontally therefrom for positioning in the ballast under, and approximately to the center of, the track. A frame is p-ivotally mounted on each tractor and carries wheels for engagement with the adjacent rail. Each frame extends approximately to the center of the track, and means is provided for temporarily coupling the frames at the center of the track. When a train approaches, the coupling means may be readily released and the frames are pivoted out of the space defined by the track so that the train may pass.

This embodiment has the particular advantage that the tractors as well as the ballast treating implements may be of very light construction so that they may be transported with ease and the implements may be introduced in the ballast Without difliculty. If such an apparatus is used for cleaning a railroad bed supporting a single track, each implement extends only to the center of the track. This apparatus may, however, be advantageously used for cleaning a railroad bed supporting two tracks, in which case one tractor travels along the outside rail of each track. Such an operation was not possible with conventional machines of this type.

Preferably, the guide means is pivotally mounted on the vehicle, for instance for movement about a pivot whose axis is parallel to the track so that it may be readily folded back upon the approach of a train.

If two tractors are used, the guide means may also extend all the Way across the track from one tractor to .the other and may be removably connected thereto. Since such guide means, for instance a frame carrying guide wheels, may .be very light, it can be manually removed from the track Without any difiiculty.

Furthermore, if the guide means is a frame running on the track on guide wheels, this frame itself may be used to transport the tractor with its ballast treating implements along the track from one operating location to another, the tractor being merely pivoted onto the frame at the end of one operation and the frame being ,used for transporting the tractor to the next operation. No special transport means for the machine is required.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be more fully explained in the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which illustrates certain structural details without limiting the invention thereto.

In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a side view of the tractor 'with the ballast conveyor and cleaning means, taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the tractor with its guide means, taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along line 33 of FIG. 1.

The description and the drawing are confined to the improvement provided by the invention and to such parts as necessarily cooperate therewith and as may be required to a complete understanding thereof. Conventional and non-essential features, such as details of the ballast conveyor and cleaning implements, which are well known .in the art and whose specific structures are of no impontance in respect to the invention, have been omitted or schematically indicated.

Referring now to the drawing, the vehicle 1 comprises a flat support for the various means for receiving, cleaning, conveying and replacing the ballast in the bed. The support forms part of a track-laying tractor which travels adjacent the track 16 and is sufficiently removed from the railroad track to permit a train to pass by the tractor.

A front bucket conveyor 3 serves to pick up and convey ballast from the lateral edges of the ballast bed and a rear bucket conveyor 4 receives the ballast transported thereto by the horizontal ballast treating implement 5 which is illustrated as a scraper conveyor extending into the ballast under the track and approximately to the center thereof. The ballast from the bed edges, which is picked up by conveyor 3, is discharged onto a vibratory sieve 7 by endless conveyor band 6 while the conveyor 4 directly discharges the ballast onto the sieve. The entire ballast is cleaned while moving over the downwardly inclined sieve, which may be vibrated in a manner Well known per se, and the cleaned ballast is deposited by gravity from sieve 7 onto endless conveyor band 8. Conveyor band 8 may be pivoted about pivot '17 so that the cleaned ballast can be discharged at any desired place at the edges of the bed or within the space defined by the track. The soil, dirt and other undesired waste drops through sieve 7 onto transversely extending endless conveyor band 9 which transports the waste away from the railroad bed. The front end of the tractor is supported on a continuous driven track belt 2 and the rear end is supported on a support roll it) which is rotatably journaled in the tractor frame. The belt 2 and roller 10 constitute the wheel means of the tractor.

In accordance with the present invention, this ballast cleaning vehicle has a guide means mounted thereon whereby the vehicle is guided along the track as it travels adjacent thereto. In the illustrated embodiment, the guide means is constituted by a frame 11 pivotally mounted on the vehicle by means of pivot means 12 extending in a direction parallel to the track. The guide frame carries flanged wheels 13 which run on the rails of the track 16.

In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 11 extends only to the center of the track where it is coupled to a like frame 11 extending from a like vehicle, not otherwise shown, at the other side of the track. The frame coupling means 14 may be readily uncoupled when it is desired to pivot the guide frames upwardly and out of the space defined by the track 16. The illustrated pivoting means is a hydraulic cylinder mechanism 115 which is linked by pins 15 and 15 to the vehicle 1 and the frame 11, respectively, and enables the frame to assume a vertical position at the side of the tractor and out of the way of passing trains.

The ballast treating machine operates as follows when a train approaches the working site:

Operation of the ballast treating means is stopped. The guide frame is upwardly pivoted to remove it from the space defined by the track. If considered desirable, the free side of the tractor may be temporarily supported by any suitable means. After the train has passed, hydraulic mechanism 15 is actuated again to lower the guide frame so that the wheels engage the rail to provide guidance for the onward moving tractor. Ballast treatment is resumed until the next train approaches. The coupling means 14 are so constructed that they may be readily connected and disconnected.

While one embodiment of the ballast cleaning machine has been described and illustrated, it will be clearly understood that many modifications and variations may occur to the skilled in the art, particularly after benefiting from the present teaching, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A machine for treating ballast supporting a railroad track including two elongated rails and tie means transversely connecting said rails, comprising a vehicle equipped with wheel means for travel laterally adjacent the track, a ballast treating implement supported on the vehicle and extending substantially horizontally therefrom for positioning in the ballast under the track, a guide means mounted on the vehicle for engagement with at least one rail of the track whereby the vehicle is guided along the track as it travels adjacent thereto on said wheel means thereof, and means for temporarily moving the guide means out of the space defined by the track.

2. The machine of claiml, wherein said guide means is a frame carrying wheels adapted to engage said rail.

3. A machine for treating ballast supporting a railroad track including two elongated rails and tie means transversely connecting said rails, comprising a vehicle equipped with wheel means for travel laterally adjacent the track, a ballast treating implement supported on the vehicle and extending substantially horizontally therefrom for positioning in the ballast under the track, a guide means pivotally mounted on the vehicle for movement of the guide means into engagement with at least one rail of the track whereby the vehicle is guided along the track as it travels adjacent thereto on said wheel means thereof and out of the space defined by the track whereby the track is free for the passage of trains.

4. A machine for treating ballast supporting a railroad track including two elongated rails and tie means transversely connecting said rails, comprising a pair of vehicles, each having wheel means for travel laterally adjacent a respective rail of the track, a ballast treating implement supported on each vehicle and extending substantially horizontally therefrom for positioning in the ballast under the track, each implement extending approximately to the center of the track, a guide means mounted on each vehicle for engagement with the adjacent rail whereby each vehicle is guided along the track as it travels adjacent thereto on the respective wheel means, means for temporarily coupling the guide means at the center of the track, and means for temporarily moving each guide means out of the space defined by the track.

5. The machine of claim 4, wherein each guide means is a frame extending approximately to the center of the track and carrying wheels adapted to engage the respective one of said rails.

6. A machine for treating ballast supporting at least one railroad track including two elongated rails and tie meanstransversely connecting said rails, comprising a pair of vehicles, each having wheel means for travel laterally adjacent a respective rail "of the track, a ballast treating implement supported on each vehicle and extending substantially horizontally therefrom for positioning in the ballast under the track, a vehicle guide means for engagement with at least one rail of the track whereby the vehi cles are guided along the track as they travel adjacent thereto on the respective wheel means, and means for temporarily moving the guide means out of the space defined by the track.

7. A machine for cleaning ballast supporting a railroad track including two elongated rails and tie means transversely connecting said rails, comprising a vehicle having wheel means for travel laterally adjacent the track, means mounted on said vehicle for removing, cleaning and replacing the ballast, said means including a ballast treating implement supported on the vehicle and extending substantially horizontally therefrom for positioning in the ballast under the track, a guide means mounted on the vehicle for engagement with at least one rail of the track whereby the vehicle is guided along the track as it travels adjacent thereto on said wheel means, and means for temporarily moving the guide means out of the space defined by the track.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,449,714 Praytor et al Sept. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,073,510 France Mar. 24, 1954 

1. A MACHINE FOR TREATING BALLAST SUPPORTING A RAILROAD TRACK INCLUDING TWO ELONGATED RAILS AND TIE MEANS TRANSVERSELY CONNECTING SAID RAILS, COMPRISING A VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH WHEEL MEANS FOR TRAVEL LATERALLY ADJACENT THE TRACK, A BALLAST TREATING IMPLEMENT SUPPORTED ON THE VEHICLE AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY THEREFROM FOR POSITIONING IN THE BALLAST UNDER THE TRACK, A GUIDE 